Queering the Fairy-Tale in Anne Sexton's Transformations. The current paper explores Anne Sexton's volume of poetry, Transformations (1971), from a queer, feminist perspective. Each of the seventeen poems offers a distorted retelling of a Brothers Grimm fairy-tale, often replete with pop culture references and black humor. The paper examines the strategies of queering that the poet employs in her deconstruction of myths, storytelling, family relations (such as motherhood and fatherhood), gender roles, deformity and disability, and many other difficult subjects. The author makes use of feminist and queer theory, while also casting light upon the construct of the fairy-tale and why it offers a space for queer exploration. The fairy-tale allows the poet to examine aspects of trauma and intimacy at a remove, but with a view towards catharsis. Keywords: fairy-tale, queer, queer theory, retelling, feminism, abject.
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Fairy tales to female writers are major resource for their abundant writings, but for the feminist poets since 1960s, they become essential subject matter to often deal with in their literary production. With the motivation to address the conventional tradition of patriarchal society, and re-address the stereotype females inhabiting these tales, feminist writers set upon revealing the underlying sub-context of these tales, presenting them with more adult-suited themes. Anne Sexton's Transformation is a pioneering revision of Grimm's fairy tales in which the poet does not only satirize the patriarchal society she grew up in, but she also rejects the female stereotype that her upbringing intended her to be. In the following paper, the feminist messages which Sexton's fairy tales intended to deliver are examined to reveal the poet's position concerning feminism and her relationship with female role-models and the male figures she presents in her fairy tales.
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Fairy tales to female writers are major resource for their abundant writings, but for the feminist poets since 1960s, they become essential subject matter to often deal with in their literary production. With the motivation to address the conventional tradition of patriarchal society, and re-address the stereotype females inhabiting these tales, feminist writers set upon revealing the underlying sub-context of these tales, presenting them with more adult-suited themes. Anne Sexton's Transformation is a pioneering revision of Grimm's fairy tales in which the poet does not only satirize the patriarchal society she grew up in, but she also rejects the female stereotype that her upbringing intended her to be. In the following paper, the feminist messages which Sexton's fairy tales intended to deliver are examined to reveal the poet's position concerning feminism and her relationship with female role-models and the male figures she presents in her fairy tales.
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Literature encompasses a wide range of genres, and fairy tales hold a significant position, particularly in children's literature, as they serve as an important avenue for children to explore and familiarize themselves with the English language and culture. Anne Sexton, a renowned writer known for her introspective style, has been a subject of both acclaim and controversy. However, Sexton's poetry is deeply influenced by European culture, especially the realm of fairy tales, where she undertakes the task of reimagining well-known tales with a specific emphasis on female protagonists. This article employs a methodological approach to examine Sexton's reinterpretation of these canonical narratives, providing valuable insights into the genre itself. Sexton's collection, "Transformations," serves as a valuable resource for understanding the fairy tale genre. According to Jack Zipes, a prominent scholar in fairy tale studies, fairy tales are fictional narratives.
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Journal of Critical Studies in Language and Literature
This article explores the approaches that modern women poets use in their revised mythical notions to expose and implicate the inappropriate effects of patriarchal norms and conventions on women and gender inequality. This study addresses Anne Sexton and Carol Ann Duffy as modern woman poets who redefine archetypal myths and revise fairy tales to narrate the stories of those who have been left out of historical and cultural narratives within female characters. Sexton and Duffy shake up gender stereotypes with determined humorous plot complexities, allowing women to shed the secondary classic roles assigned to them. The female characters in the poems recapture their power through literary reconstruction, confronting male dominance and instilling guilt for feeling worthless. These modern women poets focus on what the female characters in their fairy tales think, feel, react, and decide what they look like in appearance, which is not employed in these writing norms in common fairy tales. Sexton and Duffy are the innovative versions of fairy tales, in which the poets not only satirize the patriarchal society in which they grew up but also reject the female stereotype that their upbringing assumed. This study examines the feminist messages that Sexton and Duffy's fairy tales intended to convey to reveal the poets' position on feminism and their relationship with the female role models and male characters they portray in their fairy tales. The findings confirm that these revising approaches and changing writing fairy tale norms can aid in creating a female identity and generate a critical return to the patriarchy's despotic discourse.
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Mi proyecto de trabajo fin de Máster consiste en un análisis y posterior comparación de las adaptaciones postmodernas de los cuentos La Bella y La Bestia, Blancanieves y La Bella Durmiente escritos por las autoras Anne Sexton, Angela Carter y Emma Donoghue. Este análisis no se va a centrar solo en enfatizar las similitudes y diferencias desarrolladas por cada autora en su propia adaptación sin que, la mayor relevancia del trabajo se dirige al análisis de estos cuentos desde un marco sociológico específico: teniendo en cuenta la influencia de las teorías feministas desarrolladas desde los años setenta hasta los noventa, es decir, la segunda ola feminista, el postfeminismo y la posterior adhesión del movimiento LGTB a esta última corriente. En primer lugar, este ensayo va a introducir la definición y principales funciones de los cuentos de hadas desde que se conectaron con el folklore y los mitos de países específicos hasta que evolucionaron como formas de adoctrinamiento para las muj.
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